Haiti

We’ve been looking into the best ways to help out those who are suffering so terribly in Haiti following yesterday’s earthquake.

The best single source of reliable information we’ve found so far is from our web-colleagues at The Rumpus, via poet and Rumpus Poetry Editor Brian Spears. Please click here (and he is adding additional resources as he learns of them; thanks to Brian for doing a terrific job, and keeping things up to date).

At present, the ARC says that as with most earthquakes, the immediate needs are for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support, things they are expert at providing. Doctors Without Borders is also on the job. Brian’s report lists a number of other reliable ways to help.

Beware, please, of scams; here’s an article from the New York Times on them.

Repeating Islands is a blog that has been providing information and perspective on the situation.

Here are some rough photos of what things are like there. Sadly, you’ll need to brace yourself before looking.

Feel free to comment, but it would be good only to provide links, news, and useful information that you can verify.

Check this post again from time to time for updates.

Comments (5)

Thanks very much for the kind words. I plan to keep updating as I can.

On January 13, 2010 at 5:31 pm Kent Johnson wrote:

Again, I’ll bet a gala fund-raiser reading in NYC –big-name poets reading with Haitian diaspora poets, the event co-sponsored by the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Project, Academy of American Poets, etc., with some music and a star MC– would raise a good deal of money and provide a good deal, too, of what you refer to above, Don:
Emotional support.

Given the magnitude of the disaster, some sort of special collective gesture from the U.S. poetry community (if I may use that word) seems called for.

On January 13, 2010 at 6:32 pm Eric Landon wrote:

Maybe the 20 staff at the Foundation could lobby the lawyers to look at the terms of the Lilly endowment and see if there’s any way of releasing any money to a special fund? Or match dollar for dollar any monies raised through charity readings etc.